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Three Cheese Mac & Cheese

Yield
6 to 12 entrée or side dish servings
Cook Time
Take boring mac & cheese up a level with this creative recipe from Chef/owner Rick Moonen at Mandalay Place in Las Vegas.

Ingredients

  • 5 quarts salted water
  • 1 pound large elbow macaroni
  • ⅓ cup lightly toasted fresh bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 cups béchamel sauce (recipe below)
  • ½ cup Roth Fontiago®, shredded
  • ¼ cup Roth Vintage Van Gogh®, shredded
  • ¼ cup aged cheddar, shredded
  • _
  • Béchamel Sauce:
  • ½ cup and 2 tablespoons butter, divided
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 3 cups milk (whole or reduced-fat)
  • 2½ cups aged cheddar, shredded
  • 2 cups Roth Vintage Van Gogh®, shredded
  • ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Salt and ground white pepper to taste

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 375˚ F. In a large pot, boil water and cook elbow macaroni until al dente. Drain pasta in a colander and rinse with cold running water. Drain well and set aside.
  2. Toss bread crumbs with olive oil, parsley, salt and black pepper; set aside.
  3. Prepare béchamel sauce, add cooled elbow macaroni and mix well. Stir in Roth Fontiago® and season with salt and black pepper.
  4. Transfer pasta-cheese mixture into a large buttered casserole dish (or small buttered ramekins). Top with grated Roth Vintage Van Gogh®, aged cheddar and bread crumb mixture. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the bread crumbs are lightly browned.

Béchamel Sauce:

  1. Sweat shallot with 1 tablespoon butter in a small pan over low heat (approx. 10 minutes – do not allow shallot to brown); set aside.
  2. Prepare a roux by melting ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan over low heat. When butter starts to bubble, slowly whisk in flour (making sure no lumps are apparent) and cook flour-butter mixture for approx. 1 minute or until thickened (do not allow mixture to brown). Remove saucepan from heat and slowly add milk, whisking constantly until the flour-butter mixture and milk are fully incorporated. Return saucepan to low heat and continue stirring until sauce has fully thickened (approx. 6-8 minutes).  Stir in aged cheddar, Roth Vintage Van Gogh®, and shallot, and allow sauce to simmer until cheese is completely melted.
  3. Season cheese sauce with nutmeg, salt and white pepper.